Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Wed Jan 29th Todays News

Channel 9 news claims Pete Seeger was labelled a communist for supporting workers rights and opposing McCarthy witch hunts. In fact, he was a communist for much of his life, and a communist sympathiser to the end, supporting tyranny and murder and exploitation by some of the worst people of the twentieth century. He did not write 'turn turn turn' but took the lyrics from Solomon .. but it was his arrangement .. Tim Blair says his music was no good. I disagree. It was aspirational, and at odds with Seeger's beliefs. It touched many good people.The youngest were able to hear the purity. Where have all the flowers gone? They have been tended by conservatives.

We shall overcome .. it is just sad that a person responsible for popularising that song should be what needs to be overcome.The peace movement of the sixties wasn't entirely grass roots, but well funded by Communists who used drugs to manipulate the population in a similar way Britain had exploited China in the nineteenth century. It was corruption of the media and a political movement that allowed the exploitation and profited from it. Even to this day, those who barracked for Ho Chi Minh and Pol Pot denounce conservative politicians under the guise of grass roots politics. Seeger blazed a trail in the forties that laid a foundation for the peace movement. When we look back at over a hundred million people killed by policies of Stalin and Mao, we see what Seeger dreamed of and yearned for. It is kind of satisfying, for me, he lived to see his dreams crushed when the Berlin wall crumbled and Reagan and Thatcher and Pope John Paul 2nd slay the evil beast. Islamic terrorism has filled the power vacuum, and the left has embraced it. But Seeger's song's don't quite resonate for it.
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It appears that the plea for navy comment from ABC researcher Alison Branley was initially an email before it was posted on Facebook. Either way – and I confirmed this with Branley yesterday prior to publication of the item on my site – the words are definitely hers.

UPDATE. The PM joins in:

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has berated ABC News, arguing that it is taking ‘’everyone’s side but Australia’s’’ and that journalists should give the Navy the ‘’benefit of the doubt’’ when it comes to claims of wrongdoing …

‘’You would like the national broadcaster to have a rigorous commitment to truth and at least some basic affection for the home team,’’ he told Macquarie Radio on Wednesday.

Mr Abbott also said that it ‘’dismays Australians when the national broadcaster appears to take everybody’s side but our own’’, adding, ‘’I think that is a problem’’.

It is. Now prepare for several days of luvvie outrage.

UPDATE II. Foreign minister Julie Bishop wants the ABC to apologise for casting doubt on the reputation of Royal Australian Navy sailors:

“If the ABC now finds that these allegations were utterly unsubstantiated then it should come out and say so,” Ms Bishop told reporters in Brisbane.

“Meanwhile, people’s reputations are under question because of the ABC’s reporting of this matter, so I trust that the ABC will do the right thing.”

Tim Blair – Wednesday,January 29,2014 (12:03pm)

The man who sang at hobo camps, labor halls and at union rallies just couldn’t stop making money. An accidental entrepreneur and unwitting capitalist, Seeger was, despite his best efforts, the quintessential American success story.

More annoying than Seeger’s dumb communism was his horrible music. Folk singers should be pinned to ant beds.

Tim Blair – Wednesday,January 29,2014 (11:13am)

Former Greens leader Bob Brown hails German solar power in 2011:

It is the way to go. The Greens have recently rescued the proposals for base load solar power stations, which will go in rural and regional Australia to make sure they are progressing ... We want this country to be at the cutting edge. I repeat, the example is firm and true. In Germany, where they did this because the Greens were in the balance of power, they have created 350,000 jobs. It was the strongest component of the German economy during the recent recession. It’s good economics.

And another German solar supporter in 2013:

Germany is often credited for a “solar miracle.” Even though it’s a cloudy country, it is a world leader in solar energy …

One in three workers in Germany’s solar industry lost their job last year. By November, there were a mere 4,800 employees left in the sector, the first time in four years that number has fallen below the 5,000-mark. That’s less than half 2012?s levels, when there were still 10,200 solar jobs.

LEIGH SALES: How much of a barrier or otherwise have teachers’ unions been in countries that have undertaken major reforms?
AMANDA RIPLEY: A big barrier. I mean, this is one of the surprises, is
that everywhere you go in the world, pretty much teachers’ unions are
powerful, there are contracts in place that principals and school
leaders complain about, there are real limits to the ability to dismiss a
teacher for performance all over the world. So, you know, be that as it
may, it is a challenge in every country.

In the last few years, Daniel Hannan has been recognised all over the
English-speaking world as one of this generation’s most eloquent voices
for freedom. Hannan has a scholar’s mastery of the history of liberty
and a politician’s grasp of the powerful forces vying to determine our
future.

Studies of previous accidents shows damage to the Reef occurs
through physical damage to the coral substructures and toxic pollution
from marine anti-foulant paint, as well as impacts from oil spills…
Because of the sway the industry has over the government, the Great Barrier Reef has been turned into a coal highway....

The Greens are calling for a Royal Commission into how this situation
could occur. Certainly, the coal industry, should be held to account.

So far this century, of 14 yearly headline predictions made by the Met Office, 13 have been too warm...
The 2013 global temperature also means that the Met Office’s projection
that half the years between 2010 and 2015 would be hotter than the
hottest year on record (which on the HADCRUT measure was in 1998),
issued around the time of the Copenhagen climate conference in 2009, is
already incorrect.
The Met Office believe one of the reasons for this ‘warm bias’ in their
annual global projections is the lack of observational data in the
Arctic circle, which has been the fastest warming area on earth.
They also suggest another reason why the global surface temperature is
falling short of their projections is because some of the heat is being
absorbed in the ocean beneath the surface.

There is, of course, a third and more likely option - which the BBC is
far too polite to even mention. It’s that the climate models the warmist
Met uses have exaggerated the influence of man’s emissions on the
climate. As climate scientist Professor Judith Curry noted in testimony
to Congress this month:

For the past 16 years, there has been no significant increase in
surface temperature. There is a growing discrepancy between observations
and climate model projections… The IPCC does not have a convincing
or confident explanation for this hiatus in warming. There is
growing evidence of decreased climate sensitivity to atmospheric carbon
dioxide concentrations… The growing evidence that climate models are too sensitive to CO2 has implications for the attribution of late 20th century warming and projections of 21st century climate change.

The media treat the anti-vaccinators with the disdain they deserve, but
sections of the media see no contradiction in actively promoting the same type of anti-science fanaticism when it comes to climate…
What would we think if Prime Minister Tony Abbott declared “immunisation science is crap”?

And, gosh, it turns out that my blog could kill the planet:

The anti-immunisation brigade is still at it, yet giant strides have
nevertheless been made in protecting public health. There is no such
luxury in the case of climate change, and it is the anti-environmental
paranoia of men like Abbott and Newman, and Andrew Bolt and George Pell,
that endangers the health of our planet.

I remain astonished - even alarmed - that someone as extreme in his
views and rhetoric is actually a professor, educating our young.

You’d laugh, if it wasn’t for the needless damage done to the reputation of the country and our navy:

AN ABC news journalist has admitted asylum-seekers’
claims of mistreatment by the Australian navy are “likely to be untrue” a
week after the broadcaster claimed it had footage that “appears to back
up” the allegations.
In an email to
a former senior army officer, who forwarded the correspondence to News
Corp Australia columnist Andrew Bolt, ABC national reporting team
journalist Alison Branley sought off-the-record information from navy
personnel.
“I have been tasked with finding some navy personnel who might be
willing to speak to us in a background capacity - not on the record,”
she wrote. “It follows the story our Jakarta guy ran on the
asylum-seekers’ burns claims.
“My boss feels the allegations are likely to be untrue and we want to
get people on board some of the ships up there to background us.”
Her boss, national reporting team editor Jo Puccini, told The Australian
last night she did not have a response to the revelation.

No response? Why so shy suddenly?
But an ABC spokesperson now backtracks from the backtrack:

Any suggestion that in our reporting we (a) indicated the allegations were true or (b) now believe they are false is incorrect.

Like almost everyone else, I find the notion that members of the
Australian navy would deliberately inflict agonising pain on helpless
civilians very hard indeed to believe. But so is the notion that
would-be asylum seekers would inflict this kind of pain on themselves at
the behest of scheming people smugglers.
No doubt there is an explanation for those burns – probably one that the navy could readily give us, if it were allowed to.

The story was never plausible. It was uncharacteristic of Australian
culture and inconsistent with 100 years of Australian military history.
In fact, the Australian sailors applied first aid to the asylum seekers’
blistered hands. And by the time they boarded the boat the engine was
already cold, says Australia Defence Association executive director Neil
James.
The most likely scenario is the asylum seekers tampered with the engine and burned themselves in the process.

He said the broadcaster should have given the navy and its personnel “the benefit of the doubt’’ in its reporting of the matter,
“I want the ABC to be a straight news-gathering and news-reporting
organisation, and a lot of people feel at the moment that the ABC
instinctively takes everybody’s side but Australia’s,’’ Mr Abbott said.
He said he was also concerned at the ABC’s reporting of leaks by the
“traitor’’ Edward Snowden, saying it “seemed to delight’’ in
broadcasting his allegations.
“And of course, the ABC didn’t just report what he said, they took the
lead in advertising what he said. That was a deep concern.’’

An Age writer cuts to the central issue of the CFMEU scandal - how it suits the Abbott Government and its business buddies:

Evidence of bribery and links between the powerful construction union,
bikies, organised crime and companies seeking work on large private and
government building projects could not have come at a better time for the Abbott government…
It will seek to extract maximum political advantage… It has not escaped
the government’s notice that unions donate millions to Labor… Shorten,
O’Connor and other frontbenchers’ links to the union movement will be
used to wedge the opposition…

By targeting corruption in unions and arguing a credible reform case on
law-and-order grounds, the Coalition will achieve two dividends. It will
weaken Labor’s left flank and will please business, a core
constituency.

And there I was thinking the real issue was the corruption and the wicked misuse of too-mighty union power.

Atlantic Salmon topped the list of Australia’s top 10 seafoods in 2013,
according to information compiled by the Australian Government’s
Fisheries Research and Development Council (FRDC)… Shark was fifth on
the list.

Seeger was a member of the Communist Party from the 1930s through the
1950s. He left the party but never gave up the faith. He told the
Washington Post in 1995 “I am still a communist.” Like his comrades and
fellow travelers Seeger twisted and turned with every pronouncement from
Moscow. Seeger supported the Nazi-Soviet Pact, a curious position for a
noted “anti-fascist.” In 1941 Seeger along with Guthrie was a member of
the Almanac Singers, a communist folk group. The group put out the
anti-war album Songs from John Doe, containing songs that labeled
Franklin Roosevelt a war monger. One of the songs had the following
lyrics:

Franklin D, listen to me,
You ain’t a-gonna send me ‘cross the sea.
You may say it’s for defense
That kinda talk ain’t got no sense.

Of course when Germany invaded the Soviet Union, Seeger and the Almanac
Singer’s literally changed their tune to get in lockstep with Stalin’s
new foreign policy. They pulled Songs from John Doe from the market and
quickly replaced it with the pro-war, pro-Roosevelt album Dear Mr.
President:

Now, Mr. President
You’re commander-in-chief of our armed forces
The ships and the planes and the tanks and the horses
I guess you know best just where I can fight ...
So what I want is you to give me a gun
So we can hurry up and get the job done!

Throughout the 1950’s and 1960’s, Seeger called for peace, peaceful
co-existence between the United States and the Soviet Union, singing
songs like Put My Name Down, Brother, Where Do I Sign?—a ballad in favor
of the Soviet Union’s phony international peace petition that favored
unilateral disarmament by the West while leaving the Soviet atomic
stockpile intact. He would sing and give his support to peace rallies
and marches covertly sponsored by the Soviet Union and its Western front
groups and dupes—while leaving his political criticism only for the
United States and its defensive actions during the Cold War.

Once called “America’s tuning fork,” Pete Seeger believed deeply in the
power of song. But more importantly, he believed in the power of
community – to stand up for what’s right, speak out against what’s
wrong, and move this country closer to the America he knew we could be.
Over the years, Pete used his voice – and his hammer – to strike blows
for worker’s rights and civil rights; world peace and environmental
conservation. And he always invited us to sing along. For reminding us
where we come from and showing us where we need to go, we will always be
grateful to Pete Seeger. Michelle and I send our thoughts and prayers
to Pete’s family and all those who loved him.

Seeger sang for the labour movement in the 1940s and 1950s, for civil
rights marches and anti-Vietnam War rallies in the 1960s. He also
intoned for environmental and anti-war causes in the 1970s and beyond.

JULIE Bishop’s announcement that the United States is our most important
economic and security relationship is yet another surprising diplomatic
stumble from this government.

Kevin Rudd on September 17, 2009:

OUR relationship with the US is Australia’s most important relationship.

Rudd addressing the Foreign Policy Association on September 24, 2009:

THERE is no more important relationship for Australia than our
relationship with the United States of America. We share common
interests. More importantly, we share common values…

Julia Gillard addressing the US congress on March 9, 2011:

YOU have an ally in Australia. An ally for war and peace.
An ally for hardship and prosperity. An ally for the 60 years past and
Australia is an ally for all the years to come ... I firmly believe you
are the same people who amazed me when I was a small girl by landing on
the moon. On that great day I believed Americans could do anything. I
believe that still. You can do anything today ... Americans can do
anything. Americans helped free the world of my parents’ generation.
Americans inspired the world of my own youth. I stand here and I see the
same brave and free people today. I believe you can do anything still.
There is a reason the world always looks to America. Your great dream -
life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness - inspires us all.

One question about the
CFMEU corruption scandal badly needs an answer from Labor, and I
suspect only a royal commission will provide it.
Why did the Gillard Government agree to the CFMEU’s demands and abolish
the Australian Building and Construction Commission two years ago, and
replace this watchdog with a much weaker body?
It was an astonishlng decision. Mystifying, in fact. What pressure was
brought to bear on Labor? What influences made Labor do something so
against the national interest?
The ABCC had been brilliantly successful in cracking down on lawlessness
in the construction industry. Rogue unions - including the CFMEU - were
heavily fined. Days lost to illegal strikes plummeted. Nearly 40 matters of possible criminal conduct including extortion, assaults and bribes were referred to police and other law enforcement agencies.
The former ABCC head, John Lloyd, warned in 2012 what would follow with
the weaker Fair Work Building Industry Inspectorate, given Labor had
stripped it of coercive interviewing powers and slashed fines from
$110,000 to $33,000.

“The rule of law is now compromised beyond repair. Construction industry
sources complain that the building unions are boasting that they are
‘back in control.’ They show no fear of, nor regard for, the new Fair
Work Building Industry Inspectorate.”
And so it proved.

Nigel Hadgkiss was deputy commissioner of the ABCC and has been
appointed head of its replacement by the Abbott Government until it can
get the Senate to pass a law to bring back the ABCC. (The Greens and
Labor oppose this.)
Hadgkiss last night told the ABC he found gangsters and organised
crime figures involved in the construction industry from the time he
first we asked to investigate it, two decades ago, “but not to the
degree that you see it now in 2014”.
It is hard to not to see a connection between Labor’s decision two years
ago and an apparent worsening of corruption in the CFMEU. And it was
so predictable.
So why did Labor do it? How close are its senior figures to union
bosses? How beholden is Labor, now led by former AWU boss Bill Shorten,
to big unions in general, and the rich CFMEU in particular? Did Prime
Minister Julia Gillard disclose to her party room that the national
president of the CFMEU was her former boyfriend? (Note: no allegation of
impropriety has been made against the president, who has struck me in
my few dealings with him as a man of integrity.)
Labor must explain its reckless decision. And it must drop its veto on bringing back the ABCC.
UPDATE
And The Age in 2009 cheered that folly, just as it cheered the carbon tax and the fatal scrapping of tough border laws:

THE ACTU delegates were in the right on one matter of principle, summed
up in the chant “one law for all”. The ABCC, set up by the Howard
government in 2005, infringes the basic principles of equality before
the law and the right to silence. Its coercive powers, applying uniquely
to people in the construction industry, include the power to jail those
who refuse to be interviewed ... The Age believes no Australian should
be deprived of the legal rights enjoyed by all other citizens purely on
the basis of the industry in which they work ... The union movement has
an important role to play in standing up for Labor principles and, as
(Sharan) Burrow told (Julia) Gillard, the ABCC is an “affront to Labor
values”.

I saw another poster go ballistic over a man identified as a grandfather was caught having sex with his mature grand daughter in the middle east .. probably Syria .. not a choice I'm up for .. but the camera person got hysterical and wanted them shot .. democracy does not mean every idea is worthy. Freedom does not mean all action is legitimate. Vigilance is not the same as perve-ing. - ed===
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In politics some err on the side of caution, hoping for better than observable facts suggest. Hitler's language at that time was not very different to later. So the optimism of the correspondent was based on the same thing which was used to proclaim the new Iranian Prime Minister a reformer moderate. - ed===

YOUR BEST DAYS ARE STILL IN FRONT OF YOU.God still wants to do incredible and amazing things in your life.There is a story in the Bible that illustrates this very well. In the book of Numbers, Moses sent 12 trusted leaders into the future land of promise. As they surveyed the land, they ALL saw incredible supply. They saw grapes that were larger than anything they had ever seen. They saw abundant resources and provision that were far above anything they had ever experienced.

But what they also saw in front of them were giants. There were enemies who possessed the land who were larger and very intimidating. I think that’s something we can all relate to. Even though God has made us great promises, many times we tend to focus on the giants. Your giant may be.A relational disappointment you’ve recently experienced.Your finances that haven’t turned out the way you hoped.The fact that you’ve been sick.A disappointment you can’t seem to get past.

Here is a question I would like to ask you: Are you ready to position yourself to see the “God of more than enough” come through and meet your need? The starting point is your willingness to let go of fear and doubt and anxiety. Take hold of the fact that God loves you, has a plan for you and really does want to show Himself strong on your behalf. He wants to defeat every giant. He wants to overcome every obstacle. And He wants to do exceedingly, abundantly above all you ask or think.God bless you.

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PRAY.Father, I come humbly before You today. I give You my past, present and future, knowing that You will redeem my life. I release those who have hurt me. I choose forgiveness so I can be free to move forward in the path You have for me in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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Look up to God, He holds the key and knows what is best for you and me.Only He can make heartaches cease and fill a heavy heart with peace.

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I Want You To Know That Nothing WastedThe Scripture says,“Who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion.”(Psalm 103:4, NIV)I know people who feel like they’ve wasted years of their lives because of poor choices. They spent years in a relationship that was toxic, years with an addiction, years at a job where they weren’t fulfilled. But you have to realize, nothing you have been through is ever wasted. Your past experiences, good and bad, have deposited something on the inside of you. Those challenges have sharpened you to help make you who you are today. When the enemy brings hardship into your life, God has a way of taking that experience and turning it around for your advantage. You may think you’ve hit a dead end, but if you’ll stay in faith, you will see God begin to open up a new route. He’ll put the right people in your path, the right opportunities, the right circumstances to move you forward toward the blessing God has in store for you.Today, don’t focus on what’s happened in your past, focus on what God will do in your future. He wants to restore your soul and revive your dreams. Keep believing, keep expecting, keep hoping because God has a new route for your future.God bless you.

London Marathon

28 January 2014

Dear David,

I am delighted that my son, Simeon, is running the London Marathon on 13th April 2014 in support of Compassion UK.

We are partners and advocates of Compassion UK and thank God for the incredible transforming work they do through child sponsorship. Simeon and I visited the slums of Kenya with Compassion. It was a bitter-sweet experience where we saw people living in such severe poverty, but we saw firsthand the transformation and joy Compassion bring to the children, their families and communities.

Simeon would be grateful for any amount of sponsorship. He will run and endeavour not to grow weary until the 26 miles are up!

2014 Virgin Money London Marathon13th April 2014The Virgin London Marathon is one of the great British sporting events, combining elite athletics, mass participation and record-breaking fundraising in one race. The course is a gruelling 26 miles 385 yards long, passing through the streets of London from Blackheath to the famous finish line at The Mall.

From the Blog

As I noted in my column on this impending release and jihadist flood earlier this month, the Obama administration itself set the stage for the security-undermining releases. Endangered U.S. troops will reap what this reckless White House helped sow...

Not only will President Obama avoid apologizing for all the canceled plans, but he’ll find a way to blame Ted Cruz and other Republicans for them. For a preview of the promises Obama will make during his fifth State of the Union speech, go watch his first four State of the Union speeches...

Do you not feel in your own soul that perfection is not in you? Does not every day teach you that? Every tear which trickles from your eye, weeps "imperfection;" every harsh word which proceeds from your lip, mutters "imperfection." You have too frequently had a view of your own heart to dream for a moment of any perfection in yourself. But amidst this sad consciousness of imperfection, here is comfort for you--you are "perfect in Christ Jesus." In God's sight, you are "complete in him;" even now you are "accepted in the Beloved." But there is a second perfection, yet to be realized, which is sure to all the seed. Is it not delightful to look forward to the time when every stain of sin shall be removed from the believer, and he shall be presented faultless before the throne, without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing? The Church of Christ then will be so pure, that not even the eye of Omniscience will see a spot or blemish in her; so holy and so glorious, that Hart did not go beyond the truth when he said--

"With my Saviour's garments on,Holy as the Holy One."

Then shall we know, and taste, and feel the happiness of this vast but short sentence, "Complete in Christ." Not till then shall we fully comprehend the heights and depths of the salvation of Jesus. Doth not thy heart leap for joy at the thought of it? Black as thou art, thou shalt be white one day; filthy as thou art, thou shalt be clean. Oh, it is a marvellous salvation this! Christ takes a worm and transforms it into an angel; Christ takes a black and deformed thing and makes it clean and matchless in his glory, peerless in his beauty, and fit to be the companion of seraphs. O my soul, stand and admire this blessed truth of perfection in Christ.

Evening

"And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them." - Luke 2:20

What was the subject of their praise? They praised God for what they had heard--for the good tidings of great joy that a Saviour was born unto them. Let us copy them; let us also raise a song of thanksgiving that we have heard of Jesus and his salvation. They also praised God for what they had seen. There is the sweetest music--what we have experienced, what we have felt within, what we have made our own--"the things which we have made touching the King." It is not enough to hear about Jesus: mere hearing may tune the harp, but the fingers of living faith must create the music. If you have seen Jesus with the God-giving sight of faith, suffer no cobwebs to linger among the harp strings, but loud to the praise of sovereign grace, awake your psaltery and harp. One point for which they praised God was the agreement between what they had heard and what they had seen. Observe the last sentence--"As it was told unto them." Have you not found the gospel to be in yourselves just what the Bible said it would be? Jesus said he would give you rest--have you not enjoyed the sweetest peace in him? He said you should have joy, and comfort, and life through believing in him--have you not received all these? Are not his ways ways of pleasantness, and his paths paths of peace? Surely you can say with the queen of Sheba, "The half has not been told me." I have found Christ more sweet than his servants ever said he was. I looked upon his likeness as they painted it, but it was a mere daub compared with himself; for the King in his beauty outshines all imaginable loveliness. Surely what we have "seen" keeps pace with, nay, far exceeds, what we have "heard." Let us, then, glorify and praise God for a Saviour so precious, and so satisfying.

Today's reading: Exodus 19-20, Matthew 18:21-35 (NIV)

At Mount Sinai

1 On the first day of the third month after the Israelites left Egypt--on that very day--they came to the Desert of Sinai. 2After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain.

3 Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain and said, "This is what you are to say to the descendants of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: 4 'You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself....'"

23 "Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

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About Me

I'm author of History in a Year by the Conservative Voice aka History of the World in a Year by the Conservative Voice.

I'm the Conservative Voice.

I'm looking to make contact with those who might use my skill.

I have an m-audio mobile pre amp fed by the audiotechnica 2041sp condensor mic pack. Prior to 15/4/06, I'd used a Shure sm-58 that required a nuclear blast to register a sound or the internal mic of my aged imac, which has a penchance to recording my breathing. I also used a Griffin itrip, until the community convinced me it was not hiding my talent as well as the other mics.

I am a Writer and an occasional Math Teacher (Sir, what's the occasion?). I like to sing, having no instrumental talent (cannot even clap in time, and yes, I'm aware singing badly IS obnoxious).

I have performed the finale to Les Miserables before an audience of 500. I have also sung before a similar audience (students, parents) renditions of 'I Will' (Beatles), 'Mr Cairo' (Jon Vangelis) and 'I am Australian' (Seekers). Now I seek another profession because the audience hates me ..